The rest of the evening went on like this. Evan would tell Nicole something about himself and she’d tell him something about herself. The two of them were doing a better job getting to know each other than Brandi and Nicole had done. It was amazing how Nicole’s stories always related to Evan’s stories. Maybe it was the fact that they both grew up in small, rural towns and shared similar childhoods—the only difference being the money their respective families owned. Evan was only three years older than Nicole, which meant that they were both in high school at the same time, but she couldn’t retrieve any memory of ever seeing him play for the Red Rages. Maybe it was because back then Nicole was too busy ogling her high school crush, who played quarterback for the Titans. She didn’t have eyes for anyone else.
Nicole noticed that Evan was actually quite funny and nice. She would be lying if she said that the blonde man was just how she thought he’d be. Nobody really expects that someone who’s a billionaire before his 30s will be as down-to-earth as Evan. Nicole always read gossip tabloids—sue her—and the hottie billionaires section of the magazines would always make the young woman roll her eyes in annoyance. She’d never read anything about Evan in particular, but she figured that all rich men fit the stereotype of billionaires: playboys who liked to party every night and spend daddy’s money on drugs and high-class prostitutes. Evan, however, was proving to be the total opposite of that. Judging by his words, Nicole could see that he was a hard-working young man who didn’t really have the time to be as reckless as his loaded comrades. But then again, the she was drawing that conclusion based on this conversation, their very first, one and only conversation. Maybe Nicole was wrong. Who could tell?
The pair was so immersed in their conversation that neither of the two realized that their pizza was long gone and they’d spent at least three hours chatting nonstop. It was already really late when Matteo, the waiter from before, approached their table looking rather guilty and informed Evan and Nicole that it was past the time to close the restaurant. Nicole felt really bad for making the poor guy work later than usual, but at the same time, she didn’t regret it at all. Talking to Evan was refreshing, like getting to drink a glass of cold water after roaming in the desert for months. The woman hadn’t felt this free and careless in a very long time. Sure, she had Danielle and Leon to talk to, but this man sitting across from her had no idea of what Nicole’s life was like. Dani always tried to help Nicole with her money issues, which never failed to make the young dancer pissed as hell. Leon always managed to find a way to express his feelings, which definitely never failed to make Nicole feel embarrassed and guilty as sh*t. Evan, on the other hand, knew nothing about Nicole’s financial situation, or how she’d been abandoned by her entire family, neither did he try to make any comments that crossed the line of friendship. The blonde man treated her like a regular human being. Not like a poor woman needing charity, not like a goddess whose feet should be kissed. It felt really good talking to a stranger, though she couldn’t say that he was a stranger any longer.
After being dropped off at home that night, Nicole repeated the same routine of taking a relaxing hot shower and jumping into her bed afterwards, like she did every night. As she slowly fell into a deep slumber, she realized she’d forgotten all about the early class she’d have to teach. She’d be tired as hell in the morning, but Nicole realized that, for some reason she couldn’t quite pinpoint, she didn’t care at all.